All in HMDA

HMDA Exemption Property Address

In this Compliance Clip (video), Adam discusses how the Property Address data point applies to the partial exemption. Specifically, he provides guidance on how exempt institutions are to report the street, city and state when they are listing the state data field as part of the Property Location data point. As you would expect, this is a fairly complex topic that has caused quite a bit of confusion, so Adam attempts to break the rules down into easy-to-understand layman’s terms.

If you are an exempt reporter or plan to use the partial exemption for your 2019 data, be sure to check out our Compliance Class (video webinar) on the HMDA partial exemption in our store. Everything you need to know about the partial exemption is covered in less than an hour and includes a comprehensive training manual for reference and a Q&A of some more complex questions relating to the partial exemption. View the Compliance Class (video webinar) at www.compliancecohort.com/hmda-webinar.

HMDA Exemption for Large CRA Reporters

Adam uses this Compliance Clip (video) to talk about one of the nuances of the CFPB’s Interpretive and Procedural Rule regarding the HMDA partial exemption. Specifically, this video explains how the property address and property location data points apply to large CRA reporters who also qualify for the HMDA partial exemption. The answer might not be exactly what you think…. or even what the CFPB intended.

On December 31, 2018, the CFPB adjusted the HMDA exemption threshold from $45 million to $46 million.  The adjustment is based on the 2.6 percent increase in the average of the CPI-W for the 12-month period ending in November 2018. Therefore, banks, savings associations, and credit unions with assets of $46 million or less as of Dec. 31, 2018, are exempt from collecting data in 2019.

One might think that using the HMDA partial exemption for small filers would make life easier.  Much easier. Well, for the most part, that is true. The CFPB’s interpretive and procedural rule provides relief for certain “small HMDA filer” so that they are exempt from reporting about half of the data fields (22 out of 48 total data fields).  The problem with the HMDA partial exemption, however, is that the rules to comply with the partial exemption are actually quite confusing. For example, the CFPB interpretive and procedural rule provides a number of different ways to report exempt data fields, and even creates some confusion on one particular data field: the State data field.

The new HMDA rules have created a whirlwind of challenges for HMDA reporters as reporters have had to learn which knowledge they could retain from the prior rules and which knowledge they had to adjust - not to mention the new elements that had to be learned.  The reality is that it takes time to get all of the “kinks out” when learning a new, especially one that is as complicated as HMDA and Regulation C. A prime example of the challenges that are created due to the implementation of a new rule is the HMDA loan amount when there has been a counteroffer.

On October 23, 2018, the CFPB released the Filing Instruction Guide (FIG) for data collected in 2019.  This guide comes less than two months after the most recent version of the guide (August 2018), but is designed to be used for data collected during 2019.  The FIG is considered to be a “technical resource to help financial institutions file HMDA data collected in 2019 and reported in 2020.”

One of the biggest challenges that came with the January 1, 2018 HMDA changes relates to the difference between a refinance and a cash-out refinance.  On the surface, it would not seem to be that difficult but the specifics can actually get quite complicated. Therefore, it is imperative that each HMDA reporter fully understand the difference between a cash out refinance and a refinance.